American Athletic Conference Tournament Picks: Best Bets & Sleepers

2023 American Athletic Conference Championship Odds

Conference tournament time is here and BetQL is your source for best bets, sharp picks, public data, historical trends and so much more every single day for every single game! Per our friends at FanDuel, these are the odds to win the 2023 American League Conference Championship:

Houston -320, Memphis +500, Cincinnati +1500, Tulane +1500, Wichita State +1500, Temple +3500, UCF +4500, South Florida +12000, Tulsa +25000, SMU +25000, East Carolina +25000

Houston (27-2, 15-1 American) is the heavy favorite to win the AAC after only dropping one game in conference play. Memphis, Tulane, Cincinnati and Temple were the only other teams to finish conference play above .500. The Cougars have not only been the best team in the conference all season but they are currently ranked No. 1 in all of college basketball. Scroll down to see if you should back Houston at these odds and find out which sleepers to consider.

2023 American Athletic Conference Tournament Picks & Predictions

American Athletic Winner Best Bet: Houston (-320)

Houston has been beating up on its opponents all season long thanks in large part to its dominant defense. The Cougars rank first in the conference in a number of categories, including points allowed (55.9 points per game), field goal percentage defense (.358) and scoring margin (+20.21), just to name a few. Guard Marcus Sasser was selected as the preseason AAC Player of the Year and I would expect him to also win Tournament MVP.

The Cougars have won the last two conference tournaments, beating Memphis by 18 in the championship last season and Cincinnati by 37 in 2021. Kelvin Sampson's teams are primed for this type of tournament play with plenty of experience playing deep into March. At -320, Houston is a heavy favorite, but for good reason. When the Cougars are playing at their best, there isn't anyone in this conference that's going to stop them. I highly anticipate them cutting down the nets and heading into the NCAA Tournament with quite a bit of momentum.

American Athletic Winner Sleeper Pick: Memphis (+500)

I'm not sure this constitutes a sleeper being it has the second shortest odds to win the tournament, but at +500, Memphis has the price tag of a sleeper. It's 12-4 in league play and has the conference's scoring and assists leader in Kendric Davis. The Tigers run a high-powered offense (80.0 points per game) and have the best field goal percentage in the AAC (48.4 FG%). The Tigers would have to catch the Cougars on a bad night defensively, but if you want to back the team that has the best chance of upsetting Houston, it's the Tigers. Just don't bet the house on it.

American Athletic Winner Deep Sleeper Pick: Wichita State (+3000)

I would not advise placing this bet, but for the purpose of this article, Wichita State is my deep sleeper to win the AAC Tournament at +3000. When the Shockers played Houston earlier this season, they only lost by nine despite shooting just 15% from three. They also outrebounded the Cougars, which isn't an easy thing to do. Wichita State has the second-best field goal percentage defense in the conference behind Houston and is the second-best defensive rebounding team. It is also just fine slowing the game down and playing Houston's style, which makes me believe that if these two teams meet in the final, the Shockers could have a chance to win and cash a big ticket.

Want More Conference Tournament Picks?

We have picks and predictions for all of our favorite Conference Tournaments happening this March. Check out our other prediction articles below and see which teams we think are the best bet to win and a few sleeper teams you can catch longshot odds on

Sun Belt Conference Tournament Picks
Colonial Conference Tournament Picks
Southern Conference Tournament Picks
Patriot League Conference Tournament Picks